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Why It’s Easier to Rob Bitcoins Than Banks

3/5/2014 3:03PM

Days after Mt. Gox shutdown, bitcoin bank Flexcoin was robbed of its coins and it too is shutting down. Marketwatch Quentin Fottrelll discusses how to keep bitcoins out of the hands of bank robbers. Photo: Getty Images.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... will commit Digits I'm Steve was a Willow ... the digital currency landscape has been called the wild West ... and now there's bank robberies to boot ... days after Mel got shut down Bitcoin Bank flex point was robbed of its coins and it still is shutting down ... MarketWatch's Quentin for trial joins us with a look at why it's easier to Robert bitcoins that it is to rob banks ... explain that it's true ... yet those in order to keep your bitcoins are these virtual currencies ... didn't really exist as in the same way that have success ... but um ... similar turbine Capote people want to store them online and they want to trade them people use them or turn bastion trade and ... suspends moments ... um there are these online wallets ... and are trading exchanges like man talks ... or if he ... found which ... I'll add you to trade your pick one because the volume is so violent I'll ... it was like fifty dollars the year it or not the point is worth about five seventy six it ... was over eleven hundred of late last year right before Black Hawks siesta so everything was good ... up until the any of this year than February rolled around and then we've had a series of events announced in the timeline here Friday corn Exchange now got shuts down on the twenty fifth of February ... on the cuts postbankruptcy denying that the flights going issues here and in March ... it does love love that stuff going on fiscal ... bright has ended its agenda that is Server Shao doing what could be in New ... really exciting ... of ... the form of currency but at the moment as with any ... acting that's new in this is based on a ... computer for around there are factors that they're on this money ... to be hot ... um the ... of the thin man talks it was something like what was the several hundred million dollars does like the five hundred million dollars was ... down six million ... pounds us a lot of money that's like half a billion dollars gone ... just was that that DASA but says it though ... just how are they but the transaction Ali billion it said it was in the actual bitcoin network ... it was Sunday messing with the transaction proves when you're taking money in and out of your pants ... knots out with my was known two years ago ... and a member of the pic whenever could add a ... official report and had to fix this ... in February ... so ... um you know there's also this under things you can do to protect yourself you know kind of put all of your bitcoins into one virtual Wallace ... you get every bitcoin as a private key which is as big golden rules you lose out by the key somebody can spend your Bitcoin ... so ... you can take that Hibiki offline complex client on a single store that Saddam ... declines on their wallets as well but they said ... that claims the recap all fly and that is that to deprive the key to wipe it from the computer system ... on a credit on that memory test when a piece of paper and put in a bind Foltz where of Dallas and will say if ... they remain safe because the hackers can get them ... so yes Eto'o Nvest lawyer declined one trading exchange are one-on-one was at the moment ... if you want to ... and store them online awful site is the question here obviously this is a very convoluted and complicated situation ... how does ... a coin regained trust in ... the or and that that's on us is reading thousand people perhaps the ... five hundred that is a good are the scenario of its ... I don't think they can ever and I think it's I think ... were were probably going to see more cases like this as long as there is money that is rapidly as readily available out there and that there are so many different ... online ... while it's an trading exchanges and I didn't like any early back back ... back in the wild West ... um they don't all have the same six reports is the double checking that their consummation two ... matches up with the money they're supposed to have in the wall it's so Phipps only being bled ever creative time they realize this and ... it doesn't alarms go off to a lurch and this fact ... aam is a lot of money to steal from one place ... and one guy ... so the fact that the answer is they can regain the trust or minus ten in the long process is the very because it really is the wild West and Iran into the phenomena comes to online currency there so many of the bitcoin ... isn't the only one ... so it's gonna take time ... before ... aam trust is established RMB following this one closely Quinn patrol thank you so much for joining us there ... and I'm Steber slow thanks for watching it